The Structure of Training

As I enter the 4th week of training for Delaware, I find myself marveling at just how much fun I am having with running right now. This kind of confused me for a second. After all, marathon training is tough on the body and mind. I’ve been waking up just after 5 am three days a week to get my runs in before work. My weekends have been structured around my long runs, and making sure I get to bed early enough to feel fresh for them.

Sounds like fun, right!?

But so far, I kind of love it. I actually really look forward to my long runs. I don’t know how I’ll be feeling 12 weeks from now, but right now I’m just soaking up the adventure and the challenge of finally having a goal that’s simultaneously thrilling and terrifying.

(Love this saying.)

It’s been a really long time since I actually followed a structured training plan. After running 10+ half marathons, I kind of figured out the lazy way to train – as long as I kept up a long run of 10 or so miles on the weekends, and maybe a little mileage here and there during the week, I knew I could complete 13.1 miles. It worked pretty well for me. On a cold day with a flat course, I was even able to run a PR on that system (the Baystate Half). But it also meant, that I developed a sort of lackadaisical approach to running. If I was tired during the week or had a long day at work, I just wouldn’t run. Any runner or coach will tell you, mileage matters. So I really wasn’t doing myself any favors. I still enjoyed running, but without something to really work for, it was easy to make excuses to skip it.

I’m loving the structure of finally following a training plan again. Now, when I think about going back to sleep when my alarm goes off (because of course, it’s still tempting), I can’t do it. I want to do everything in my power to run my best race on May 8th, and if I skip a run, it’s only making my goal that much more improbable.

I don’t know what will happen on race day and there are a ton of factors outside of my control. With a race that’s 26.2 miles, there’s a lot of time for things to go wrong. But maybe, things will go right and all the training will pay off.